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Lecture

Geodesically Convex Optimization

In course

MATH-512: Optimization on manifolds

We develop, analyze and implement numerical algorithms to solve optimization problems of the form min f(x) where x is a point on a smooth manifold. To this end, we first study differential and Riemannian geometry (with a focus dictated by computational con ...

Description

This lecture introduces the concept of geodesically convex optimization on a Riemannian manifold, defining geodesic convexity and providing examples. It covers the properties of geodesically convex sets, functions, and linear functions, as well as the conditions for a function to be geodesically convex or concave. The lecture also explores the relationship between convexity and minimization, presenting proofs and claims related to global and local minimizers. Additionally, it discusses the convexity of functions on geodesic segments and the implications of strong convexity. The study of Riemannian manifolds and continuous functions in the context of convex optimization is highlighted.

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Instructor

Nicolas Boumal

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Mathematics

Geometry: Differential geometry

Related concepts (27)

Convex set

In geometry, a subset of a Euclidean space, or more generally an affine space over the reals, is convex if, given any two points in the subset, the subset contains the whole line segment that joins them. Equivalently, a convex set or a convex region is a subset that intersects every line into a single line segment (possibly empty). For example, a solid cube is a convex set, but anything that is hollow or has an indent, for example, a crescent shape, is not convex. The boundary of a convex set is always a convex curve.

Convex function

In mathematics, a real-valued function is called convex if the line segment between any two distinct points on the graph of the function lies above the graph between the two points. Equivalently, a function is convex if its epigraph (the set of points on or above the graph of the function) is a convex set. A twice-differentiable function of a single variable is convex if and only if its second derivative is nonnegative on its entire domain.

Convex hull

In geometry, the convex hull or convex envelope or convex closure of a shape is the smallest convex set that contains it. The convex hull may be defined either as the intersection of all convex sets containing a given subset of a Euclidean space, or equivalently as the set of all convex combinations of points in the subset. For a bounded subset of the plane, the convex hull may be visualized as the shape enclosed by a rubber band stretched around the subset. Convex hulls of open sets are open, and convex hulls of compact sets are compact.

Riemannian manifold

In differential geometry, a Riemannian manifold or Riemannian space (M, g), so called after the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann, is a real, smooth manifold M equipped with a positive-definite inner product gp on the tangent space TpM at each point p. The family gp of inner products is called a Riemannian metric (or Riemannian metric tensor). Riemannian geometry is the study of Riemannian manifolds. A common convention is to take g to be smooth, which means that for any smooth coordinate chart (U, x) on M, the n2 functions are smooth functions.

Pseudo-Riemannian manifold

In differential geometry, a pseudo-Riemannian manifold, also called a semi-Riemannian manifold, is a differentiable manifold with a metric tensor that is everywhere nondegenerate. This is a generalization of a Riemannian manifold in which the requirement of positive-definiteness is relaxed. Every tangent space of a pseudo-Riemannian manifold is a pseudo-Euclidean vector space. A special case used in general relativity is a four-dimensional Lorentzian manifold for modeling spacetime, where tangent vectors can be classified as timelike, null, and spacelike.

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